Change and Harmonization in European Education was first published in 1971. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.Changes are taking place in European education, changes which, in many respects, point to a trend toward harmonization or integration of educational policies among various countries of Europe. Professor Beck surveys these developments in secondary and higher education in both Western and Eastern Europe and shows how common challenges and goals are being identified and met. The study is based on extensive travel and research.As the author explains, Europeans, whether they live in England or in the Soviet Union, are committed to such goals as equality of educational opportunity, whatever one’s sex, place of residence, or family background. At the same time, Europeans are aware of such common problems as the difficulty of providing places in colleges or universities for all who would like to attend them. There is a common awareness among the different nationals of the desirability of making vocational-technical education more prestigious than it has been in the past, and of the need to temper the chauvinism that has characteristically run through much of the teaching until recently.Changes in the educational systems of West Germany and Sweden receive especially close scrutiny in this study, and there is emphasis on the influence which several international agencies and organizations have exerted on the process of educational harmonization, among them, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Council for Cultural Cooperation (of the Council of Europe), the European Institute for University Studies, and the Comparative Education Society in Europe.

The Changing Structure of Europe was first published in 1970.A group of University of Minnesota scholars representing various disciplines presents the result of a careful study of Europe in the mid-sixties and a look into the seventies. They examine the major economic, educational, political, and social issues both from an interdisciplinary standpoint and from the viewpoints of their respective specialties. The study is based on extensive travel and research.The book focuses on the question of integration among the nations of Europe -- its extent, the major factors in its success or failure, and the prospects for future developments which will favor or discourage such integration. Major attention is given to the operations of cross-national political, military, and economic organizations, including the European Coal and Steel Community, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Economic Community, and the European Free Trade Association, as well as some of the lesser cross-national entities. Harold Deutsch, a historian, treats political and military relations and institutions; John Turnbull, an economist, discusses economic structures and policies; Philip Raup, an agricultural economist, analyzes agricultural and related developments and institutions; Robert Beck, a professor of educational philosophy, examines educational establishments; and Arnold Rose, a sociologist, discusses social funds and the free movement of labor.Summarizing as it does the significant developments in the important concept of European integration, the book will be illuminating to the general reader and useful, as well, to specialists for its analysis of developments in areas other than their own.

The Three R's Plus was first published in 1956. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.

Do the schools still teach the three R's or are they neglecting these fundamentals? Should boys and girls be made to study things that don't interest them? What's happened to the report card? Have drill and memorization a place in today's teaching methods? What are the basic ideas behind modern education?

Questions like these are constantly being asked by parents and other responsible citizens in a sincere effort to learn more about what the public schools are doing and why. Such questions deserve thoughtful and thorough answers that will provide a basis for realistic understanding and constructive thinking about present-day schools. In this book, educators themselves explain, in understandable terms, the concepts, the methods, and the aims that underlie our public school teaching today.

Thirty-one experts contribute chapters about their particular fields. The chapters are arranged in sections on Changed and Changing Conceptions, Subjects and Services, and Issues and Interest. The book explains modern educational philosophy and describes the methods of teaching, as applied to specific subject fields, that are based on these theories. The final section discusses such controversial problems as the financial support of the schools and the role of religion in the public school.

The majority of the contributors are members of the faculty of the University of Minnesota but among the authors are included also several administrators in the Minneapolis and St. Paul public school systems.